


Tender Loving Care

by Threshie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel & Crowley Friendship, Castiel in the Bunker, Crowley (Supernatural) Has a Heart, Crowley (Supernatural) Just Wants To Be Loved, Cuddling & Snuggling, Demons, Domesticity in the Men of Letters Bunker, Eventual Romance, Female Crowley (Supernatural), M/M, Multi, Past Crowley/Dean Winchester, Podfic Welcome, Pregnancy, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Sam Winchester, Ruler of Hell Crowley (Supernatural), Sassy Crowley (Supernatural), Some Humor, Suspicious Castiel (Supernatural), Team Free Will, Touchy-Feely, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, pregnant crowley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 11:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13997040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Threshie/pseuds/Threshie
Summary: Crowley’s body has been stolen, his new meatsuit is a (dead) pregnant woman, and Sam and Dean convince him that ruling Hell with a baby bump is a bad idea. Crowley doesn’t care about the baby that will die if he ditches the new body, but having the Winchesters doting on him for a few months doesn't sound too bad.





	Tender Loving Care

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this last November during NaNoWriMo, and have the rest of the story plotted, so I figured I may as well post it! Hope you guys enjoy. This is looking to be a long fic -- probably at least 10 chapters. Comments and kudos always appreciated! ♥

Dean tapped his foot, checking his phone again. They had been standing around in this abandoned apartment building’s cold, empty bottom level for over twenty minutes. It wasn’t like Crowley couldn’t teleport right to them — it had been his idea to meet up with the Winchesters here to hand off the rare spell ingredients Sam needed.

“Think he’s just pulling our leg?” He turned to Sam, frowning. He still didn’t really want to know HOW Sam had persuaded the King of Hell to go fetch things for him from the far reaches of the earth, but Crowley had texted him about the meeting, so it wasn’t some poorly-planned practical joke of his brother’s, at least. 

Sam looked a little exasperated with his twitchy attitude.

“No. He’ll show up,” he sighed. “Maybe some, uh, HR emergency came up in Hell. Or something.”

They’d actually seen more absurd things happen than that, so it wasn’t really a joke.

Dean opened his mouth to reply when Sam stared behind him suddenly. A little nod of the head warned Dean somebody else was there. Turning, the hunter stared.

Only a demon could have just appeared silently in the room with them, but it sure wasn’t Crowley. First off, it was a woman — a hot one, petite and blond with big gray eyes and an innocent kind of face. She looked maybe 25 and wore all black — a big oversized black blazer over a knee-length black dress, black tights, black Mary Jane shoes. None of that was too weird for a crossroads demon, which Dean assumed this must be, for Crowley to send her in his place to talk to them. They were usually female, hot, and dressed up nice.

What WAS weird was that she had a baby bump. There was no mistaking the soft curve of her stomach, even around the bulky blazer and full skirt.

“Wow. He sent a minion?” Dean looked at the demon grumpily, trying to ignore the pregnant belly. Some potential soul-selling crossroads dudes probably had a pregnancy fetish or something. Was there a woman trapped in the demon’s hold, watching them? Maybe they could exorcise her, save her and the baby. Crowley would be pissed, but could they really leave a pregnant woman to this fate? 

Sam interrupted his brother’s dark thoughts, blinking and stepped closer. He was looking at the lady demon’s blazer.

“Is that…Crowley’s jacket?” He asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, Moose, yes it is,” the demon replied with a small smirk, and Dean’s jaw nearly hit the floor. The nickname, the accent, the smug tone…

“Crowley?” He asked, stunned. 

The little blond King (Queen?) of Hell raised her hand and waved at their dumbfounded faces.

“Hello boys.”  


* * *

  
“So, you’re stuck like this.” Dean sounded about as happy with this predicament as Crowley felt. The King of Hell had just gotten through explaining how his usual meatsuit had been stolen, and how he’d hopped into this bystander’s instead — right after the same troublemakers who evicted him shot her.

“More or less,” the demon shrugged his new slender shoulders. A female voice was interesting; he was used to being a lot lower-pitched. “I mean, I COULD hop on out of Blondie here and into whoever else is handy, but she’s dead. Pretty sure I almost ran into her soul leaving on the way in.”

Sam, bless his stupid bleeding heart, had taken one look at Crowley’s new body and suggested that they have the rest of this conversation somewhere safe. That was how Crowley was sitting in the dining room of their very well warded Men of Letters bunker, holding a glass of water since apparently Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum had fits at the idea of a pregnant body ingesting coffee or alcohol. 

“That would kill the baby,” Moose concluded now, brows pinching in their sad, puppyish way. Crowley had always found Sam to be more attractive than Dean, although the older brother’s green eyes and pretty mouth certainly weren’t BAD. Maybe Sam was just the temptation of the unknown…

But, he was getting a little distracted.

“Precisely, Moose,” he replied, turning to smile at Sam. “While I don’t generally care if some random human or other dies, I figure I’ve got nothing better to do but keep Junior here alive until I have my own body to return to, anyway.”

Dean sat up in his chair, crossing his arms. He and Sam both sat across from Crowley, like he was on display or something.

“Has anybody in Hell seen you this way yet?”

Crowley waved a hand dismissively.

“No, and I don’t intend for them to. I’m on a ‘business trip’ until this is resolved, delegating anything terribly important to Ned back in the office by text message.”

“Are you serious?” Sam’s brows rose at that. He brushed a lock of that silky brown hair behind his ear and fidgeted. “Hell’s not going to go too long before they want at least a phone call.”

“Yes, well, I’ll cross that rickety bridge when I come to it,” Crowley retorted, rolling his eyes. He could lie and tell Ned he was borrowing a female body for a project if he absolutely HAD to talk on the phone, but Hell could not find out his favorite body had been stolen, and it definitely could not figure out that its King was knocked up. Never mind the disrespect and apparent weakness that came with letting somebody steal your meatsuit — no self-respecting demon would give a moment’s pause to save a human baby’s life. Some of them ATE human babies. For breakfast. Literally.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a hand falling on his shoulder. Blinking, Crowley looked up to find that Sam had stepped over in front of his chair and was leaning down to address him.

“Stay with us,” he said, hazel eyes earnest.

“What?” Crowley frowned. “I don’t bloody need your—”

“Think about it,” Sam urged, stepping to the side to look back at Dean as well. “You can’t go back to Hell. Any demon you meet anywhere is gonna recognize you on sight and ask questions about this body. And me and Dean, we could help get your other body back, too,” he added.

Crowley glanced from him to Dean. That plan didn’t sound like a Dean Winchester approved one.

The older brother looked thoughtful, though. There wasn’t a scowl on his face like Crowley had expected. After a moment he stood and stepped over, too.

“He’s right, Crowley. You’d be safe here, and we could help you.”

“You mean you could help keep an eye on me,” Crowley corrected drolly, crossing his arms over the new body’s pregnant belly. “Make sure I don’t ditch the Lamaze classes and all that.”

“You said it yourself,” Sam said, concern in his eyes. “You’ve got no other body to go to right now, and if you leave the baby will die. We’ll get your body back for you if you stay here and stick around long enough that the baby can live without the mom.”

Crowley frowned and grabbed the front of the brunette’s shirt, using it for leverage to pull himself to his feet. This body’s center of balance was way off with the baby bump. To his bemusement, Sam and Dean both shot arms out to support him as he was standing, Sam even taking one of his hands. People really reacted differently to a female form, but a pregnant one in particular, it seemed…

“This little bundle of joy would already be dead if I hadn’t ducked out of my other body to avoid getting STABBED,” he pointed out, but with less venom than he intended. The boys both seemed even taller and more strapping when his form was this petite, and it was sort of nice up close. Sam, he noted, had forgotten to let go of his hand.

“But the baby’s alive,” the taller man pointed out, “because of you. You weren’t trying to, but you SAVED it.”

Crowley frowned and brought a hand up to pat his belly. He couldn’t really deny it, he WAS the only reason the little life hitching a ride in his meatsuit hadn’t been snuffed out like a candle. Sam knew he hadn’t been trying to be a hero, but apparently it still got him some karma brownie points for having done it anyway.

“We’re gonna need info from you on any leads for where to find your body, anyway,” Dean pointed out, sounding surprisingly reasonable. Crowley was amazed he was even considering this ridiculous plan. The King of Hell, going on maternity leave. That was a first in the history of the world, he was pretty sure. If they had been all business and cold to him, it would have been much easier to reject their idea.

Instead, though, the boys were actually being…nice. Sort of protective, whether they meant to be or not, and they seemed to automatically soften their voices and mannerisms when they spoke to him. This form was pretty far from threatening; Crowley had to wonder if they were already somehow forgetting who and WHAT he was underneath the pretty wrapping. 

He wanted to have some pride and be too big for this, but the truth was that nobody had been this nice to him in a very long time, and he liked it. He LOVED it. The idea of Sam and Dean being this accommodating for months on end while he stayed with them in their bunker was a very appealing one. Hell didn’t get to see the new meatsuit or jeer at him for it, which was also a bonus…

“Crowley.” Dean was talking to him. Blinking, the demon looked up at Sam and Dean, who looked vaguely uneasy now. The older brother placed a hand on Crowley’s shoulder — gently, really gently — and sighed. “Everything okay? You, uh, you just went silent on us.”

“Oh, I’m peachy,” Crowley replied dryly. “I’ve got a bun in the oven, my feet hurt, and I’m pretty sure this bra is two sizes too small. I feel fantastic.”

Sam and Dean exchanged a glance like they weren’t sure whether or not he was joking. The demon rolled his eyes.

“You…make a good point about how Hell will react to this form,” he said reluctantly. “I’m not saying that I’ll stay until the brat is born, but I suppose here is better than somewhere outside where I might run into my colleagues.” 

Sam’s smile was unexpected — a bright, actually happy smile that made his eyes light up. In all of the years they’d known each other, Crowley had NEVER seen him smile like that, not because of the demon. Dean even smiled a little, reaching to pat his shoulder like Sam had done before.

“Temporary roomies. We’d better pick a room for you, then, and get you settled.”

They started walking toward the hallway, apparently to declare one of the bedrooms Crowley’s new place. Crowley fell into step just behind them. Sam slowed to walk beside him almost immediately, sudden realization dawning on his face.

“Hey, uh, can we get you anything? Anything to make you more comfortable here?”

The bemusement had changed to intrigue for Crowley. The boys weren’t looking at this as a demon staying with them, even though that’s what it was. They clearly were hung up on it being an expectant mother staying with them, and actually CARED if he was comfortable or felt welcome. What a bloody joke. If he’d had any idea he could get them to be this friendly this way, he would have tried a female body years ago.

Crowley shook his head. 

“I’m used to HELL, Moose, this is pretty mild by comparison.”

Sam nodded a little, averting his eyes. Like he’d said something wrong, like he was being criticized. What in the world…? If Crowley had said that to him in his usual body, the hunter would have just rolled his eyes and ignored it. 

“You realize I’m still the same Crowley in here, yes?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Demon, King of Hell. Tortured you a couple times, you tried to kill me with feelings that one time with the blood…? Still me.”

“Of course,” Sam said, blinking.

“You kept me prisoner in shackles once,” Crowley continued patiently, “in your DUNGEON in the basement.”

Uneasily, the tall man nodded. 

“Yeah, Crowley, I remember. I know we haven’t always been on the same side, but that’s in the past, right?” He studied the demon’s face with a small frown. “You’re not holding grudges, are you? We aren’t.”

“Maybe a little,” Dean tossed back over his shoulder. When Sam and Crowley both frowned at him, he stopped and turned to face them, smiling. “Sammy doesn’t hate you for the whole demon me thing, you don’t hate us for the dungeon thing — I’d say we’re doing pretty good.” 

“Touche,” Crowley sighed. “My point is that after how your hospitality was LAST time, this is downright pleasant.”

Dean shrugged and turned around, starting to walk again. Sam touched Crowley’s shoulder lightly, almost guiding him to start walking again as well, and they headed down the hallway once more.

“There is one thing that would make me feel more at home,” the demon ventured, looking at the doors as they passed each one. Sam’s room, he knew. Dean’s. The hall bathroom. 

“What? If we can bring it to you, we will.” Sam looked so eager to hear it that he almost felt bad. Almost.

“I won’t particularly miss Hell,” Crowley began, sighing, “but months away and I’m going to miss Juliet. Could she come stay with me?”

“Juliet,” Sam repeated, glancing forward at Dean dubiously. “Your, uh, your HELLHOUND Juliet?”

“No, Romeo’s sweetie,” Crowley replied drolly, hugging his belly.

“Dean’s not going to…” Sam saw the way the demon lowered his — her — soft gray eyes to peer at the floor and fidgeted. Oh, the sway appearances held. “I-I’ll talk to him,” the Moose amended, patting Crowley’s slim shoulder.

“She wouldn’t harm a hair on either of your gorgeous heads,” Crowley assured him, putting on a slightly hopeful expression. He was sure he looked sweet and innocent right now. Pretty things had such an advantage. “She wouldn’t be after any souls, either — off the job, on vacation with me.” 

“Dean,” Sam began, but the older brother stopped them in front of a door in the hallway and gestured to it.

“Okay, this’s a good room for you. The bathroom’s right down the hallway,” he said pointedly. Oh, right, pregnant women had bladders like thimbles. Crowley resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was a DEMON, demons didn’t need food or water or pee breaks.

“Thoughtful,” he remarked, trying not to be too sarcastic. Had to seem hopeful to get Juliet into this deal. He wouldn’t admit it to the brothers outright, but having his Hellhound around would actually be pretty comforting. She was very protective of him, and could shred demons with ease.

Dean shrugged.

“We don’t own a couch or I’d say you could sleep on that.”

“Squirrel, I am a DEMON,” Crowley reminded him in a ‘you’re precious’ type of tone. “I don’t SLEEP. Don’t use the bathroom, either.”

“The baby doesn’t know you’re a demon,” Sam pointed out. “You should eat and drink for it — babies get their food from their mothers.”

“Yeah, and I know you can sleep if you feel like it,” Dean added, giving him a pointed look. Right, he and the demon version of Dean had frequently wound up in the same bed (usually with several women sandwiched in between, but occasionally just them.) He’d know, wouldn’t he?

Crowley had to admit, it sounded strangely logical. Nobody particularly knew how a baby would fare being carried by a demon-possessed dead mother for any lengthy amount of time — again, demons didn’t generally CARE about human babies.

“I’ll try,” he said wearily. “Just…show me the room, then.”

Everything they discussed felt like terms in a deal, but it was a very strange one that didn’t really get him much besides his old body back. Well, and some of the Winchesters’ undivided attention. Crowley wouldn’t admit it to anybody else, but he actually really missed Dean after his stint as a demon. Nobody else had been that kind of companion to him, not in hundreds of years. Sam seemed more understanding and caring than his brother, but maybe, just maybe Dean would care for Crowley more in this form. He certainly had a weakness for beautiful women.

A little voice in the back of his head told him that if they weren’t capable of feelings for him while he was in his usual male form, they weren’t capable of caring for HIM at all, but he pushed it aside. He could pretend for a little while, couldn’t he?


End file.
